The difference between a sale and a non-sale could be a smile.

The electromagnetic force of lips, teeth and eye wrinkles.

The potential customer is browsing your goods within 10 feet of where you stand, but they are looking down at the products without making eye contact. Here are the probably next movements:

Distraction or boredom: they look away and see something else somewhere and walk away.

Eye contact: they look up and see you. This is your moment to decide what to do: frown, neutral or smile.

Audio contact: you (or they) say something, even just a hello.

Action: they pick the product they wanted and reach into their pocket to pay.

If you’re selling crayons or rayon, a smile is probably going to help increase sales.

Only in movement #2 and #3 do you have any influence on the next steps. In #1, it’s pretty much up to their state of mind, the level of interest in your products or a child tugging on a shirt tail. Same with #4, they see what they want and, through no interaction with you, they do what they want, in this case buy the product.

NOTE: this is part of the upcoming series, “Everything I Learned About Sales I Learned at the Flea Market.”

But with #2 and #3, you are the influence. You help direct the next step. More often than not, you will be (and probably should be) the initiator of the contact. It makes a big difference how you do this. Gauge their personality. Do they want you happy and hoppy, bouncing over with personal interaction? Or are they quiet and content, maybe don’t want to be bothered. But in either case, they might be better off with more information. Do they need anything? Have any questions?

This goes deeper into the interaction, but asking them what they want can then help you help them (more on this in another article on that specific topic). But let’s get back to basics.

Careful not to overdo it or be insincere, it can backfire.

Without a single word or even eye contact, you can smile. Scientifically proven (I’m sure … ), it breaks down a barrier between you and changes your relationship. It removes some of the Buyer and Seller relationship and brings you closer together. You are closer to being on the same team, the same side of the fence.

There’s an electromagnetic field between you that you can’t see, but it’s there. It’s something of a wall, think of a brick wall, but then invisible bricks. The thing is that it’s much easier to break down than bricks, they are more like glass bricks, but a thin glass like the most fragile wine glass. A simple smile that connects with them, one that they can see, feel and respond to, can shatter that glass and lead the next actions in a way without that barrier between you.